Minority hiring at forefront of school superintendent queries

Improving minority-hiring numbers would be a top priority in the first six months on the job, both finalists to be the next superintendent of Springfield schools said Wednesday.

About 150 people turned up for a public forum at Grant Middle School that offered residents a chance to ask finalists Jennifer Gill, 44, and Michael Popp, 48, questions for one hour each. The majority of people in the audience were teachers.

Gill, who lives in Springfield, serves as director of teaching and learning in the McLean County School District. Popp holds the same position in the Indian Prairie School District, which serves students in Naperville, Aurora, Bolingbrook and Plainfield.

A superintendent could be named within the next few days, district officials said, although the announcement may not be made public until a contract is finalized.

Wednesday’s forum was the final step in the selection process, and how each candidate would improve minority-hiring numbers and the district’s relation with Springfield’s African-American community came up a handful of times during the questioning.

District 186 is under a federal court directive stemming from a 1976 desegregation order to have minority teachers in numbers that are reflective of the student body. The Springfield branch of the NAACP has threatened to sue if the district doesn’t take serious steps to improve the numbers.

Both finalists said the problem can’t be solved overnight, although immediate progress is possible.

Gill, who answered questions first, emphasized her desire to build relationships within the community. She also said she would partner with the University of Illinois Springfield to develop better strategies for retaining minority teachers.

Having a centralized hiring process is also something the district could look at, Gill said.

“We need to understand what steps to take in the district by working with community leaders,” Gill said.

Popp noted the pool of black teachers in Illinois is shrinking, so it’s more important than ever to create a culture where teaching is emphasized as a noble profession to young, black students.

He said his views about the importance of having black teachers in the classroom have evolved since he first started teaching.

“We’re fools if we can’t see color in the room,” Popp said. “We know we’re not going to fix it overnight, but we have to start by having that dialogue.”

Blackwell said he knows Gill personally and finds her to be someone who would put kids first. He also said she understands the importance of hiring minorities and is genuine in her desire to make it a priority.

Simpson, Springfield’s Ward 2 alderwoman, said she was impressed by Popp’s story of evolving from professing color blindness early in his career.

“He understands that you have to see color,” Simpson said.

Gill was also questioned Wednesday as to whether she would be able stand up to outside pressure given her current relationships in the community from being a longtime resident and having worked for many years in the Springfield district.

She responded that she would still be able to make hard decisions that focused on what was best for children.

Also in her remarks, Gill discussed how she oversaw a one-to-one student-to-laptop initiative in McLean County. If hired, she said, she would emphasize technology early on.

Popp, who was asked the same questions as Gill, agreed that technology early on is essential. In addition, he emphasized that closing the racial/socio-economic achievement gap would be something he works on every day throughout his tenure.

Popp did admit Wednesday that he had little experience at the bargaining table during salary negotiations with teachers’ unions.

However, he did note he had experience with budgeting, including helping slash about $30 million from his district’s spending over the past few years. Among the layoffs were administrators, Popp said.

Popp and Gill also had a second round of interviews with school board members, as well as an interview with an employee group, Wednesday.